FOOD

Denny's raising prices

Denny's Corp., a family restaurant chain with about 1,600 locations, will raise menu prices this year to help make up for higher commodity costs and maintain profit margin, Chief Executive Officer John Miller said.

Denny's "will go out early in the year with a modest price increase," Miller said Tuesday. He declined to specify when the increase will take place or how much it will be.

The company expects food costs to rise between 3 and 5 percent in 2012, Miller said. Denny's raised menu prices by about 1 percent in June, when it introduced its Fit Fare healthier entrees, he said.

COFFEE

Costlier Starbucks

Starbucks said Tuesday that it is raising some prices regionally as it faces rising ingredient costs.

The Seattle coffee chain is raising prices about 1 percent in the Northeast and Sun Belt regions. Starbucks wouldn't disclose all of the states where it's raising prices, but the regions include New York; Washington, D.C.; and most Southern states. They exclude California and Florida.

Other cities where it will raise prices include Boston, Atlanta, Dallas and Albuquerque.

The price for a "tall" coffee will go up 10 cents in the regions, and the chain will raise prices on about six other beverages. But beverages that are "grande," the next size up, won't change.

ECONOMY

Construction rising but still low

Construction spending jumped in November as builders spent more on single-family homes, apartments and remodeling projects.

The Commerce Department said Tuesday that spending on construction projects rose 1.2 percent in November, following a revised 0.2 percent drop in October. The increase was the third in four months and the largest since a 2.2 percent rise in August.

The November increase pushed spending to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $807.1 billion, barely half the $1.5 trillion that economists consider healthy. Analysts say it could be four years before construction returns to healthy levels.

MARKETS

NYSE puts Kodak on notice

Eastman Kodak Co. has been warned by the New York Stock Exchange that its stock will be delisted if the price remains below $1 per share for the next six months, the ailing photography company said Tuesday.

The exchange put the company on notice after its shares' average closing price was below $1 for 30 straight trading days.

Under NYSE rules, the company has six months to regain compliance with the minimum share price requirement.

Kodak shares fell 2.35 cents, or nearly 4 percent, in extended-hours trading after finishing up a cent at 65 cents during the regular session.